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Illinois gets a jump on primary with early voting

In an effort to boost voter participation in the primaries, Illinois has added an early voting option.

Wisconsin is considering a similar system, and will be watching the Illinois vote carefully. Currently, Wisconsin voters can only vote early by absentee ballot.

(Wisconsin early voting FAQ)

Election officials, however, hope to have a pilot program start for the April 2010 Spring Election. The proposed time frame for implementing early voting statewide would be September 2010.

Many races in Walworth County have few challengers, and candidates know that with low voter turnouts, they only have to concern themselves with tried and true supporters.

Increased primary participation could lead to increased interest by potential candidates.

And because Walworth County has traditionally been a Republican stronghold, the winner of the primary election is, in effect, the winner of the race.

Here are the details on early primary voting in Chicago:

Early voting began Monday and will continue through Jan. 28, 2010. Voters must present government photo identification during Early Voting.

Highlighting the ballot are seven Republicans, four Democrats and two Green Party candidates highlight the ballot for Illinois primay election for Governor. (See the list at the bottom of the post.)

Illinois' official primary day is Feb. 2.

In Chicago, voters may use any of the city's 51 sites, regardless of where they live.

HOURS FOR ALL CHICAGO SITES: From www.chicagoelections.com

9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 18

Ward. Location 1. Goldblatts Building 1615 W. Chicago Ave.

1. Mabel Manning Library 6 S. Hoyne Ave.

2. Chicago Bee Library 3647 S. State St.

3. M L King Community Ctr 4314 S. Cottage Grove Ave.

4. Jackson Park 6401 S. Stony Island Ave.

5. Whitney Young Library 7901 S. M. L. King Jr. Dr.

6. Jeffery Manor Library 2401 E. 100th St.

7. Olive Harvey College 10001 S. Woodlawn Ave.

8. Palmer Park 201 E. 111th St.

10. Vodak/East Side Library 3710 E. 106th St.

1. McKinley Park 2210 W. Pershing Rd.

2. Back of the Yards Library 4650 S. Damen Ave.

3. West Lawn Park 4233 W. 65th St.

4. Archer Heights Library 5055 S. Archer Ave.

5. Lindbloom Park 6054 S. Damen Ave.

6. Sherman Park 1301 W. 52nd St.

7. Thurgood Marshall Library 7506 S. Racine Ave.

8. Wrightwood-Ashburn Library 8530 S. Kedzie Ave.

9. 22nd Police District 1900 W. Monterey Ave.

10. Coleman Library 731 E. 63rd St.

11. Woodson Regional Library 9525 S. Halsted St.

12. Piotrowski Park 4247 W. 31st St.

13. Clearing Library 6423 W. 63rd Pl.

14. Douglass Library 3353 W. 13th St.

15. Chinatown Library 2353 S. Wentworth Ave.

16. Humboldt Park Library 1605 N. Troy St.

17. Union Park 1501 W. Randolph St.

18. West Side Learning Ctr 4624 W. Madison St.

19. Amundsen Park 6200 W. Bloomingdale Ave.

20. Portage Cragin Library 5108 W. Belmont Ave.

21. Blackhawk Park 2318 N. Lavergne Ave.

22. Pulaski Park 1419 W. Blackhawk St.

23. Independence Library 3548 W. Irving Park Rd.

24. West Pullman Library 830 W. 119th St.

25. Logan Square Library 3030 W. Fullerton Ave.

26. Hiawatha Park 8029 W. Forest Preserve Dr.

27. West Chicago Library 4856 W. Chicago Ave.

28. Wright College - Science Bldg 4300 N. Narragansett Ave.

29. N. Park Village Admn Bldg 5801 N. Pulaski Rd.

30. Budlong Woods Library 5630 N. Lincoln Ave.

31. Roden Library 6083 N. Northwest Hwy.

32. Access Living 115 W. Chicago Ave.

33. Lincoln Park Library 1150 W. Fullerton Ave.

34. Merlo Library 644 W. Belmont Ave.

35. Edgebrook Library 5331 W. Devon Ave.

36. Truman College 1145 W. Wilson Ave.

47. Welles Park 2333 W. Sunnyside Ave.

1. Edgewater Library 1210 W. Elmdale Ave.

2. Pottawattomie Park 7340 N. Rogers Ave.

3. Warren Park 6601 N. Western Ave.

4. Board of Elections, 69 W. Washington St., Lower Level Conference Room*

5. Sunday hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ONLY at:
   

6. Vodak/East Side Library, 3710 E. 106th St.

7. Election Board, 69 W. Washington St.
   

8. Welles Park, 2333 W. Sunnyside Ave.

After casting ballots in early voting, voters may not return to amend, change or undo their ballots for any reason. Ballots cast in Early Voting are final. It is a felony to vote more than once (or to attempt to vote more than once) in the same election.

Governor's race Republicans

* Adam Andrzejewski, Hinsdale — Formerly employed by the publishing business he and his brother started, Andrzewjewski sold his share of the company in 2007 and founded the ForTheGoodOfIllinois organization, which is committed to bringing transparency, accountability, efficient service and frugality to Illinois government.

• Sen. Bill Brady, Bloomington — Brady, of the 44th Senate District, has served in the Illinois General Assembly for 16 years. A GOP candidate for governor in the 2006 primary, he lost to then-state Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka. He is the ranking Republican on the Senate Insurance Committee and is a member of the Revenue, Pensions and Investments, Energy, and Environment committees.
  

• Sen. Kirk Dillard, Hinsdale — Dillard has served as a state senator for the 24th District since 1993. He formerly was a judge in the Illinois Court of Claims, director of legislative affairs for former Gov. James R. Thompson and chief of staff for former Gov. Jim Edgar.

• Andy McKenna, Chicago — The former Illinois Republican Party chairman, McKenna led the state Republican Party for four years before stepping down this summer. He most recently left his post as president of Schwartz Supply Co. in Morton Grove to join the campaign.
  

• Dan Proft, Chicago — Proft, a Chicago political consultant and pundit, has run several campaigns and served in various leadership capacities in state and municipal government since 1994.
  

• Jim Ryan, Chicago — A former Illinois attorney general, Ryan left politics in 2002 after losing a bid for governor to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Ryan is currently a Distinguished Fellow at Benedictine University in Lisle, lecturing in the area of law and government.

Bob Schillerstrom, Naperville — Schillerstrom has been DuPage County Board chairman since 1998.

Democrats

* Comptroller Dan Hynes, Chicago — Hynes is in his third term as Illinois comptroller.

• Gov. Pat Quinn, Chicago — Former lieutenant governor for Rod Blagojevich, Quinn became governor on Jan. 29, when Blagojevich was impeached and removed from office. He is running for his first full term as governor. He also is a former state treasurer.

• Ed Scanlan, Oak Park — An attorney in the Chicago area, Scanlan has been practicing law for 32 years.
  

• William “Dock” Walls III, Chicago — A politician, community activist and former aide to the late Harold Washington, Chicago’s first African-American mayor, Walls has been involved in politics since the 1980s.

Green Party

• Richard Mayers, Chicago — Mayers has been a candidate in many Illinois primaries since the 1990s. In 2007, he was removed from the Green Party ballot after filing for the U.S. House in the Third Congressional District.
  
• Rich Whitney, Carbondale — Whitney, an attorney and partner in the Carbondale law firm of Speir and Whitney, practices in the areas of employment law, civil rights and criminal defense. He ran for governor on the Green Party ticket in 2006 and received 10 percent of the vote.